Book raves

Two books that I've really enjoyed reading recently - "1491" a history of the Americas pre Columbus and "De Repente Un Angel" a novel.

First the history....stop yawning, it's interesting honestly. "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue"..............and after that Europeans got to be top dog and brought civilisation to America!

That's probably what most of us were taught at school. But this book works through what we know, think we know and are still finding out about the Americas before Columbus arrived. Charles C. Mann uses recent research and findings to challenge the old beliefs, for example he demonstrates that the cities that Cortez encountered in Mexico were bigger and as sophisticated (if not more so) than the major European cities of the time. Charles Mann is a journalist and writes in a great easy to read style. He's enthusiastic about what he finds out and eager to share, so it's not some crusty tome. This is history for everyone. Enjoy.

And probably less accessibly for most people I know, "De Repente Un Angel" (Suddenly an angel) by Jaime Bayly, a Peruvian novelist. It's a powerful story of families and forgiveness, which at times made me laugh out loud or cry. At the same time it paints a picture of
Peru today, of a hierachical society of privilege and poverty which I recognised from my time there. It's earthy, romantic, shocking and beautiful. I couldn't put it down but unfortunately I suspect it doesn't exist in English. But if you do read Spanish I'd recommend it.